1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a basketball net assembly and more specifically to a portable basketball net assembly which is easy to mount and dismount on a standard basketball rim.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The basketball net assembly most commonly used today and accepted as the standard in league play, schools, and playgrounds consists of a metal annular ring having an inside diameter of 18 inches. Welded to the underside of the annular ring are twelve metal wire loops. The basketball net is attached to the wire loops by the upper loop strands of the net. The basketball net assembly, including metal annular ring, wire loops and basketball net, are called the goal. The goal is usually permanently attached to a backboard ten feet off the basketball court surface. Most public courts have regulation height goals (ten feet).
Conventional installation of a new or replacement net of the goal is cumbersome since the goal is ten feet off the ground. This means that a ladder is usually necessary to attach a replacement net. Alternate conventional methods for changing a net involved hoisting someone up to the goal or climbing up the goal post, both of which are dangerous.
Outdoor basketball courts which are accessible for public use such as parks, schools, churches, etc., for the most part have goals without nets. The principle reason is due to the height of the goal which requires maintenance personel to have a ladder to replace the nets. In addition, due to heavy use of public courts, the life expectancy of the nets is short (three weeks) and thus it is expensive to frequently replace the net. An additional reason why public courts frequently have goals without nets is due to theft of the net for home use. Thus, public outdoor basketball goals are frequently without basketball nets due to the inconvenience and expense of replacing the net. The lack of nets is in spite of the fact that most basketball players, whether amateurs or skilled professionals prefer to play basketball on courts with nets due to a certain emotion on the part of the basketball player when the player see the net movement from a successful shot. In addition, when a net is provided, there is little dispute as to whether a successful goal has been accomplished while, when a net is not available the ball may pass too quickly through the goal causing a dispute as to whether the ball actually passed through the wire loop.
Finally, installation of nets on goals is not only inconvenient due to the requirement for a ladder, it is also time consuming since each upper loop of the net must be individually manipulatively attached to net supporting hooks on the metal annular rim. Thus, the net must be attached to twelve supporting hooks by manipulating the twelve upper most net loops through the spiral looped hooks.
An attachable basketball goal described in U.S. Patent No. 1,544,453 describes an attachable frame having the same diameter as the permanent rim. The frame is provided, at predetermined intervals, with apertures through which the lower ends of small springs are passed. The upper ends of the springs are made in the form of a hook or a loop which is passed around the permanent basketball rim. Thus, a ladder is necessary in order to attach the basketball goal frame to the permanent basketball rim. In addition, a ladder or alternate method is needed in order to change the basketball net since the net is not easily installed on the frame.
The portable basketball net assembly of the present invention is designed to overcome the aforementioned problems. In addition, the present invention allows individuals to play basketball with a netted goal at all times since the invention is portable and easy to mount and dismount on a standard basketball rim.